Space shuttle Endeavour's five astronauts returned from the international space station and, within minutes, were receiving accolades for pulling off Nasa's most complicated and critical construction mission yet.

"In anybody's ballpark, this mission was really a home run," said shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore. Endeavour's flight ended Monday evening the same way it began: right on time.

The shuttle touched down on the illuminated runway just four minutes after the space station, Alpha, soared overhead with its gleaming, new solar wings. The station was clearly visible as it streaked through the dark sky.

By the time the shuttle landed, the station was just off the Virginia coast, its three residents supposedly asleep.

During their week at the space station, Jett and his crew installed the world's largest and most powerful solar wings. Three spacewalks were required to attach the $600 million wings, hook up all the cables and then tighten the slack right wing.

The astronauts also spent one day inside Alpha, helping commander Bill Shepherd and his two Russian crewmates with computer problems and cargo transfers.

"If you've been following the mission, you know it's been a pretty exciting 11 days for us," Jett said after climbing out of Endeavour.

It was Nasa's third space station mission in as many months, but the most critical by far "because we knew we had to get those solar arrays installed and deployed," Dittemore said.

Thanks to the new electricity-producing solar wings, which stretch 240 feet from tip to tip, Shepherd and cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev no longer have to conserve power aboard the space station. They also now have access to the entire three-room complex; one room had been sealed off because there was not enough power to heat it.

Altogether, the solar wings cover half an acre and make Alpha one of the brightest 'stars' in the night sky. Nasa Administrator Daniel Goldin was thrilled to see Alpha fly overhead.

"Fantastic! No binoculars, no telescopes," Goldin said. "It's a symbol of what great accomplishments we've made."

Shepherd and his crew have been aboard the space station for one month and have three more months to go before they return to Earth. Their ride home aboard space shuttle Discovery likely will be delayed a week or two because of damaged thrusters that need to be replaced, Dittemore said.

The next space station visitors will be five astronauts who are supposed to deliver the American-made lab Destiny aboard space shuttle Atlantis in January.

Nasa held off moving Atlantis to the launch pad Monday to inspect electrical connectors for explosive devices used to separate the two solid-fuel boosters from the shuttle during liftoff. One of those devices failed to work during Endeavour's climb to orbit on November 30; a backup charge severed the left booster as planned.